Well-Seasoned October -- A dash of Andong

With her usual glory, Gloria swerved into the circle drive of my school and popped open the trunk of her car so I could load my bag. Two more stops to pick up Mia and John and we were on our way to 26 hours of action-packed adventure in the self-proclaimed Capital City of Korean Spiritual Culture -- Andong. As we headed due east, the bright morning sun heated the car and the four of us shared breads from Paris Baguette and homemade plum juice and coffee while we chatted away the kilometers to our first destination -- the Andong traditional market. This lively and spirited "shopping mall" sells everything from underwear to octopus and has wing after wing of time-honored foods such as Jjimdak chicken,which is why we roosted there, cooped up at a little table pigging out on this popular dish.

Fueled and fired up for the rest of this fall excursion, we 4 teachers headed straight for the home of Confucian studies and academies during the Joseon Dynasty -- Dosan Seowan and Ochungunia-ri. In its day, Dosan Seowon served two purposes: education and commemoration. The site was well known in Korea as one of the leading academies and was home to the Toegye School of Thought for over 400 years. As a student of life, for life, I was moved by Toegye's own words on education, which resonated inside me and now illuminate my "desktop" at school. A great scholar indeed!


After a brief stop at Andong Dam and a walk across the Wolryung Bridge, it was time to eat again -- yet another famous dish from this area, Heotjesabap, which is a variety of bibimbap, served with soy sauce instead of the gochujang (hot pepper paste). The term Heotjesabap literally means "dishes for fake jesa", which are ceremonies for death anniversaries and ancestor veneration held in Korea. In my opinion, the food was to die for...for real!

Having covered countless kilometers and enjoyed endless activities, we were all ready to call it a day and get to the Gotaek, a traditional-style Korean residence of the upper-class during the Joseon Dynasty. Unfortunately, Gloria's GPS did not register the Gotaek address, so we called the owners for a rescue. While the car crouched motionless in the blue-black night of the countryside, our eight eyes searched widely for some sign of life. Within 2 minutes, a set of beaming headlights brightened our spirits and our bed-ready bodies. It turned out that we were less than 1 kilometer away from hitting the hay!

On the floor inside the women's quarters, morning had broken with the sounds of soft snoring punctuated by nearby crescendos of "cock-a-doodle-doo" (or as they say in Korean: coke-ee-yo, coke-ee-yo). As the 3 of us ladies lay there laughing about the 'universal language' of animals and trying our tongues at the foreign phrases of farmyard friends, we heard a rustling outside and thought we had managed to call one of the countryside creatures near to us. I slowly opened the creaking rice-paper window to see what kind of animal had been lured into our multilingual morning...but alas, it was onlyJohn (a very brave-to-be-traveling-with-3 women, Chinese-Canadian teacher) tip-toeing into a misty patch of chrysanthemums to take pictures!

On that cool, quiet morning as the four of us strolled the grounds through the pale, thinned-out light, walking off our breakfast that was fit for kings, it was easy to see why the Gwon Seong-baek Gotaek is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site (and one of the most picturesque places I've ever been). This ancient enclave was dotted with chogajips & giwajips, and dense with now nearly naked chestnut, persimmon & date trees. Sesame stalks and red pepper plants stood drying in a dormant field that foreshadowed winter. Streaks of smoke from a neighbor's fireplace rose above a field of rice sheaths slumped over in seasonal slumber, while a party of iridescent magpies carelessly chattered their way through the trees. For me, this sensory scene with all its vibrancy was actually a kind of kaleidoscope of tranquility. A much appreciated respite before tearing into the main tourist attractions in Andong -- Byeongsan Seowon (a Confucian School), Hahoe Maeul (a folk village), and Buyongdae (cliff overlooking the folk village).

Established by esteemed Confucian scholars to pay tribute to the memory of Seong-nyong Yu who was well-respected for his writings and personality, Byeongsan Seowon enjoyed many freedoms under the Joseon rule, as in students and scholars of this Confucian school were exempt from taxation and other expenses. The academy stands sentinel over the Nakdong-gang river and like a folding screen around the school, the Byeongsan mountains both protect and add a serene beauty to the once academic arena.

Hahoe Maeul is a well-visited traditional folk village, which has the shape of a lotus flower, or two interlocking comma shapes. Hahoe Village (translates loosely to "Village Enveloped by Water") and was robust with cultural delights and scenic sights. We ambled our way along the alleys of the village until we reached the renowned "ribbon-wishing tree" where we stopped to tie our paper-prayers on the giant Zelkova tree. From there, we wound our way onto a playground where we released our inner children to soar above the sandpit on massive swings, jump with jubilee on the nol-ttwigi boards (a kind of Korean seesaw), and lick up ice cream cones like we were 10 again. Perhaps the pinnacle of this exquisitely scenic sight was from atop the magnificent Buyongdae cliff to which we took a small boat ride across the river and climbed the 64 meters for a panoramic view of the village.



This first venture into fall festivities with friends certainly proved my theory of October enchantment, and truly spiced up my favorite season. To enjoy a full slide show of photos, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/kristinaeisenhower/AndongAdventure#